Tag Archives: Parlophone Records

Label Variations Part Seven – Help!

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Our last post was about the 1965 US Capitol Records edition of the Bealtes “Help!”

Here are some label variations of that album (both LPs and CDs), including the versions released in Australia and the UK.  Some are from my collection, augmented by images of variations from around the world. You can click on the labels to see larger versions and hover your mouse over to get the country of origin:

And one final vinyl – thanks to Paul in France for this image of an exclusive French edition from 1978 on orange vinyl:

There are also a few CD’s:

(Click on labels to see larger versions. Hover mouse over to get country of origin)

And of course the DVD (which came out in 2007 in both Deluxe and standard edition sets). Here’s the standard edition box and DVD:

To publicise the DVD, Capitol issued a promotional disc – a seven song “Sampler” from the film:

For more Label Variations you can see Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six plus the Beatles “Love” variations here and here. There’s also a comprehensive post on all the extensive variations of the McCartney/Fireman “Electric Arguments” release, the Twin Freaks LP and singles, and McCartney‘s recent “Kisses On The Bottom” CD’s and LP. There is also a post on some George Harrison “All Things Must Pass” label variations.

Label Variations Part Six – Abbey Road

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I haven’t done one of these for a while. It’s been over a year in fact. The last Beatle-related “Label Variations” was Part Five – and that was way back in February, 2011.

(You can see Parts One, Two, Three, Four, and Five plus the Beatles “Love” variations here and here. There’s also a comprehensive post on all the extensive variations of the McCartney/Fireman “Electric Arguments” release, the Twin Freaks LP and singles, and McCartney‘s recent “Kisses On The Bottom” CD’s and LP. There is also a post on some George Harrison “All Things Must Pass” label variations).

So it’s now time for another. This time some label variations of the Beatles legendary 1969 release “Abbey Road”, kicking off with the original UK pressing:

Here’s a more recent (1994) UK re-issue. This label is more yellow/green:

Here are some Australian pressings:

The Australian “Abbey Road” front cover is distinguished by the word “Stereo” on the top right-hand side:

Here’s a couple of examples from New Zealand, starting with the original Apple pressing. As you can see the Apple colour on NZ pressings is quite a pale, washed-out green:

Incidentally, these early copies of “Abbey Road” in New Zealand came in covers with the old-fashioned external tab-fold on the rear of the cover:

These first New Zealand copies also come in a black paper inner sleeve.

Here’s a more recent black and silver Parlophone label from New Zealand:

Next an Apple label from Germany:

One made in France by Pathe Marconi:

This label below is the one used by EMI for Asian markets (Hong Kong, South East Asia and Malaysia):

And finally the fairly plain USA label:

I’ve also got a few copies of “Abbey Road” on CD (I really love this album!)

This first one is the original UK pressing:

And here’s the Australian CD, which is quite similar to the UK:

And the EU version of the very impressive 2009 Beatles digital remasters version:

Lastly, a CD that I think is an illegal copy from China. I got a series of these on a trip to Vietnam (you can read some more about this here). The series is called the Beatles “Double Golden Collection”. There are two CD’s in each jewel box and you get one 2009 remastered album on each disc, complete with the bonus mini documentary. Disc One, shown here, has “Abbey Road” (the other in this set has “Let It Be” on the second disc):

If anyone else has some “Abbey Road” labels they’d like to share please send them to beatlesblogger@gmail.com

(For most images above click to see a larger version)

The Beatles Greatest Hits Volume 1

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A visit to a garage sale this past weekend (you might use the term “yard sale” where you come from) has added another nice LP record to the collection.

It’s the “Beatles VI”, which first came out in 1965 in the US on Capitol. However, the copy I got on Saturday is a New Zealand pressing on the Parlophone label:

 

As you can see, this New Zealand pressing has the same picture cover (front and rear), and the same running order as the US release seen here below:

In Australia the artwork of this album is a bit confusing because the cover photo for the “Beatles VI” LP is the exact same cover photo that EMI Australia chose for a completely different Beatles LP they released back in 1968 called “The Beatles Greatest Hits Volume 1”:

I’ve got this on the orange Parlophone label, which would make my pressing from the 1970’s:

But to make things even more confusing, I also have the same LP (with the same cover) on a black and silver Parlophone label – from New Zealand:

So, two different records with different songs on them, but very similar cover artwork.

In case you are wondering about the origins of the photograph, it is actually the Beatles cutting a cake:

Beatles For Sale on Parlophone Records

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For a leading tax attorney Bruce Spizer sure knows a lot about the Beatles.

He is something of a legend amongst Beatles collectors. His books about the record labels the band’s output has been released on are much sought-after and comprehensive. Now, there’s a new one. The New Orleans-based Spizer has just released “Beatles For Sale on Parlophone Records”:

In a cheeky collector-driven move the book is available in two different versions. You can order it with the Stereo version of “The Beatles For Sale” album on the cover, or you can get the Mono image. The contents of both books are the same inside though:

Here’s the rear cover:

When asked to compare this book to his previous titles, Spizer said, “This is by far the most comprehensive book I have ever done because it covers all of the songs released by the Beatles in the sixties. The U.K. singles, albums and EPs, all in one 444-page book. Like my other books, it is full of hundreds of images in either color or original black & white. It contains rarely seen British ads and promotional posters. Frank Daniels and I were able to track down tons of label variations that will please and frustrate the hard-core collectors.”

Surprisingly (according to Wikipedia), Bruce Spizer didn’t start collecting seriously until 1997 when he earned a large fee from the settlement of a lawsuit and decided to use some of the money to replace his childhood collection of Beatles LPs with a set of first edition albums. From that moment he was drawn into the world of collecting and has since written and self-published eight great books on the subject of the Beatles, their records and record labels.

In case you think you’ve never heard of him, you may already have some of his work in your collection if you own this CD box set:

Bruce wrote the essay contained in the booklet which came with “The Beatles Capitol Albums Volume 2”. The four-CD box set contains stereo and mono versions of the Beatles albums released by Capitol in 1965.  Spizer also served as a consultant to Capitol Records for both Volumes 1 and 2 in the series.

Bruce Spizer’s website is beatle.net and there is a lot more about all his books there.

Australian “Yesterday” Beatles EP

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A trip to the south coast of New South Wales in Australia has turned up quite a nice copy of the Beatles EP “Yesterday”.

It was discovered in an antiques, books and records store in a little country town called Kangaroo Valley,  proof that its always worth checking out these sorts of shops when you find them. (This is the same place I found my copy of “The Beatles Forever” book).

Good copies of the “Yesterday” EP are quite difficult to find in good condition as the cover is an image that is mostly black – except for the faces of the Fab Four. This means that it’s prone to the deadly “ring wear”, where the 45 rpm disc inside rubs against the outside when it is stacked or stored with other records creating a white “ring” in the centre of the image.

As you can see above this particular copy is in pretty good condition with very little, if any, ring wear on the front cover. This is the Australian release – and dates from between 1966-1968, although these EP’s where released right up to 1979 (thanks to Jaesen Jones and his very informative book “An Overview of Australian Beatles Records” – which has only just been released this year).

You can tell it’s age because the cover has the older-style fold over tabbed or “flipback” sleeve construction (you can see this in the image of the rear cover below). Later editions went to the concealed tabs:

The other indicator of this little record’s age is the style of the Parlophone/EMI logo (seen above on the rear sleeve) and of the record label (below), which indicates again it was released sometime between 1966 and 1968. The serial number for this disc is GEPO 70026.

All-in-all a nice copy of a quite old, four song Beatles Extended Play.

For more on Beatles EP’s see this Japanese box set.

An Overview of Australian Beatles Records

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Got home from work today to discover this book in the postbox. I’d ordered it online just last week. Its a fantastic new book on the Beatles output on vinyl in Australia. When you say the words “in depth” they don’t really convey the work that collector and author Jaesen Jones has put into researching every aspect of the Australian arm of the mammoth EMI company as it relates to the Beatles output here. EMI Australia was responsible for releasing all the Beatles Parlophone and Apple label records in Australia. (The book also has information of the very few Polydor Beatle discs released here).

An avid Beatles collector from Canberra (Australia’s national capital), Jaesen has really done a terrific job in pulling together a lot of relevant information about the Australian Beatles releases – some of them quite unique in the world.

This release information from Ebay sums up well the content of the book:

They toured Australia on a single occasion in 1964, but once was enough for The Beatles to claim the continent as an integral dominion in their global Empire and to forever assure record-breaking sales of their recordings.

“An Overview of Australian Beatles Records” details Beatles records manufactured in Australia, from the first in February 1963 until the last in 1990, with emphasis on those distributed by EMI (Australia). It begins with a brief history of EMI (Australia) and its introduction of The Beatles to the people of Australia. It continues by detailing both the similarities and differences between EMI (Australia) and its parent, EMI UK, before focussing on the unique Antipodean pressings.

The book describes local publishing arrangements, major record label styles, sleeve design, production outsourcing/contracting, mastering methods and official imports. Where possible, period EMI publications, newspaper clippings, press releases and people directly involved with EMI (Australia) and Festival have been consulted.

For collectors there’s a section listing recommended Australian Beatles pressings, based on the views of numerous local and international audiophiles, as well as thirty-five pages of full colour label, sleeve and sticker scans (covering singles, EPs and LPs). Included are over 180 images, representing the most comprehensive collection of Australian Beatles record labels, outer and inner sleeves, inserts, and ephemera ever gathered together in a reference document to date.

Also included is a record rarity guide that lists all known major Aussie Beatles record variations with their relative rarity.

An Overview of Australian Beatles Records is an essential aid to the collector of Australian Beatles vinyl and is a book which will surely elevate the esteem in which this interesting subset of Beatles records is held in the global Beatles community.

You can find out more at I Am The Platypus – The Beatles Australia Album Labelography – a huge online resource also covering Australian Beatles releases.

Here are some page views from “An Overview of Australian Beatles Records”:

“An Overview of Australian Beatles Records”
First Edition, 2011
Compiled by Jaesen Jones
Published in Canberra, Australia
88 A4-sized pages (210mm x 297mm)
Over 180 colour scans and photos
ISBN: 978-0-9871048-0-9 (paperback)